Video: Casey Affleck Asks Texas A&M to Stop Cruel Dog Experiments

When Oscar winner and devoted dog guardian Casey Affleck learned that Texas A&M University (TAMU) experimenter Joe Kornegay has been tormenting dogs for over 35 years in his muscular dystrophy (MD) labs, Affleck knew he had to speak up. Now, in a new TV commercial, he’s calling on others to help these dogs.

At TAMU, experimenters led by Kornegay breed dogs to develop canine MD, a disease that ravages their bodies, causing progressive muscle wasting and weakness. They’re forced to live inside barren metal kennels, often without even a blanket. The animals are bone thin, as the muscles in their tongues become so enlarged that they struggle to eat and even choke on the gruel they’re fed. They usually become crippled before they’re 6 months old and often die within a year.

In a new PETA public service announcement, Affleck speaks out against the university’s cruel experiments and asks supporters to take action by demanding that TAMU end these experiments and put these dogs up for adoption in loving homes.

Affleck tells the story of Jelly, a dog born in a lonely laboratory and bred to have canine MD. Because of the disease, she was barely able to eat and became sicker as the years went on. When experimenters were finished with her, she was killed.

“But dogs like [Jelly] are still suffering at Texas A&M. A life full of pain for no reason,” he says in the video. “I knew that I needed to do something to stop this cruelty.”

Affleck also sat down to film a quick interview, in which he can be seen playing with an adorable rescued dog and talking lovingly about his own companion, Bella, who was found on train tracks with three legs—likely after being used as a “bait dog.” He also points out that TAMU has an opportunity to be a leader in scientific research by ending these cruel experiments on dogs and instead focusing on humane, non-animal alternatives.

Affleck ends his interview with a call to action: “It’s not quite enough to just be bothered by it. You have to speak up. Use your voice.”

What You Can Do

More than 35 years of experiments on dogs have failed to produce a single treatment that reverses disease symptoms in humans, let alone a cure.

These dogs need your help. Tell TAMU to stop breeding dogs afflicted with MD, adopt all the animals currently being used for experiments out to good homes, and close down the lab: